Belper, United Kingdom

Belper is 8 miles (13 km) north of Derby and is in the valley of the River Derwent.

As well as Belper itself, the civil parish includes the communities and hamlets of:

The hamlet of Blackbrook is 2 miles (3 km) west of Belper on the A517 Ashbourne road.

The adjoining community of Openwoodgate lies to the east, one mile from the centre of Belper. A small eastern portion, centred around Openwood Road and the Kilburn Lane section of the A609 road, containing the historic Ireton Houses cottages and bordered by the A38, is contained within Denby parish.

This is a rural district lying west of the River Derwent and just north of Belper and Mount Pleasant. It contains a nature reserve on a nineteen-acre site. The nearby lane is part of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. The reserve is placed on a reoccurring flood plain which makes it an attractive place for wildlife, especially wading birds.

Hillside is to the west of Belper Lane End, and contains the highest point of the parish at 214 metres (702 ft).

Firestone Hill is to the west of the town by the parish boundary at 191 metres (627 ft). Several masts for communications are positioned there.

Another local feature is Bessalone Hill at 182 metres (597 ft) to the north. It also carries radio masts.

Pinchom's Hill is north of Bargate, by Sandbed Lane. It is 169 metres (554 ft) in height.

Belper's economy was traditionally reliant on manufacturing industry and numerous goods were made in the town. Cotton spinning and textile production were major employers virtually for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The large East Mill and the smaller North Mill are now all that remain of the industry and are preserved as part of the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site.

During the Second World War, Rolls-Royce based the Merlin aero engine design team and Robotham's engine design division developing the Meteor tank engine at Belper. After the Second World War, J. W. Thornton, the chocolate maker, moved into the town from Sheffield, which helped to alleviate the employment problems arising from the contraction of the earlier industries. In 1985, the company relocated to a new site a few miles away in Swanwick.

Today, the main employment sectors are retail and services although some manufacturing industry remains. The main shopping area is centred on King Street and Bridge Street. The town has three supermarkets, the Co-operative, Morrisons and Aldi. There are two discount shops, Poundland and B&M Bargains. There are smaller Tesco and Co-op supermarkets on the Whitemoor estate.

Belper Town F.C. play their home games at Christchurch Meadow and are currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands. They are nicknamed the Nailers as a reference to the historical nail manufacturing industry in the town.

Belper United F.C. are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division North and play at Coronation Park, the home of Eastwood C.F.C. in Nottinghamshire.

Belper Rugby Club play their home games at Strutt's Playing Field and are currently competing in RFU Midlands 3 East (North). The club was founded in 1975.

Belper Meadows Cricket Club was founded in 1880 and still play on Christchurch Meadows, formerly the private ground of Mr G H Strutt, which it took as its home when the ground on Derwent Street on which the Belper Cricket Club founded in 1857 had played became unavailable. The club was a founder member (1970) and three times champion of the Central Derbyshire Cricket League before that league merged with the Derbyshire County Cricket League in 1991.

Belper Chess Club was founded in 1975 and has since grown into one of the county’s most active clubs. The club competes in the Derbyshire Chess Association leagues and in 2026 achieved back‑to‑back Derbyshire Chess Association Division 1 titles.

There are eight primary schools which feed the single secondary school:

Belper School and Sixth Form Centre has approximately 1,400 pupils aged 11–18. It was originally named "Belper High School" when it was built in 1973, and is adjacent to Belper Leisure Centre. Famous people to have attended the school include Ross Davenport – winner of two swimming gold medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games – and Alison Hargreaves, holder of a number of mountaineering records.

Herbert Strutt Grammar School was among the Strutt family's bequests to the town. It became a middle school in 1973, with the opening of the new Belper High School, and latterly a primary school, in use as such until spring 2008 when it was replaced by a new building on a different site. Notable among its pupils were the actors Alan Bates and Timothy Dalton.